Laundry drier



C. S. O'NEILL March 2, 1954 LAUNDRY DRIER 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Oct. 5,1951 Charles 6. (fi /fi C. S. O'NEILL March 2, 1954 LAUNDRY DRIER 4Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Oct. 5,. 1951 3 IN VENTOR.

Charles 5. O/Yezl,

C. S. O'NEILL LAUNDRY DRIER Filed Oct. 5, 1951 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 ooooo n000 0 5 000 00 O T M u o 6 M. 0 I 000 0000 V o 000 W I o 000 4 o oo 0. 0

Charles 5 0 Patented Mar. 2, i954 LAUNDRY DRIER Charles S. ONeil, TwoRivers, Wis., assignor to Hamilton Manufacturing Company, Two Rivers,Wis., a corporation of Wisconsin Application October 3, 1951, Serial No.249,564

6 Claims.

This invention relates generally to dryers and more particularly to alaundry dryer in which the laundry is tumbled.

The general object of the invention is to provide a novel dryer having adrying chamber into which air from the exterior of the chamber isintroduced and a portion of the air from the chamber is recirculated andmixed with the air from the exterior.

Another important object is to provide a dryer of the foregoingcharacter, having novel means for effecting the recirculation of airfrom the drying chamber and for introducing air from the exterior of thechamber, by which the poportion of the two quantities of air isestablished.

A further object is to provide a dryer of the foregoing character,having a novel blower provided with dual air-impelling means actingseparately on the recirculated air and the air introduced from theexterior of the chamber.

Still another object is to provide a dryer in which the air isintroduced into the drying chamber in a novel manner.

vOther objects and advantages will become apparent from the followingdescription taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, inwhich:

Fig. 1 is a front elevational view of a dryer embodying the features ofthe invention;

Fig. 2 is a rear elevational View with the rear wall ,of the outercabinet removed;

- Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional view taken on the line 33 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a vertical sectional view, similar to Fig. 3, but showing amodified form of dryer; and

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary sectional view taken on the line 55 of Fig. 4.

A dryer of the type herein contemplated is.

adapted for home use and has a capacity generally equal to the capacityof the ordinary domestic washing machine so that after one loading oflaundry has been washed in the washing machine and the major portion ofthe water removed, it then may be placed in the dryer for drying.

The dryer herein disclosed comprises generally an outer casing orcabinet, a drum rotatably mounted in the cabinet and constituting adrying chamber, and an air chamber means located preferably at therearof the drum. The air chamber communicates at its perimeter with theinterior ofthe drum and is provided with rotary blower means comprisinga partition with airiinpelling means. at its opposite faces. Oneairimpellingmeans is adapted to draw air from the exterior of the drum,while the other air-impelling means is adapted to draw air from someother source such as the interior of the drying chamber. The twoquantities of air are mixed in the outer portion of the air chamber andthe 'mixture is then forced into the drum for drying the laundrytherein. The first mentioned stream of air drawn from the exterior ofthe drum is arranged to pass over a heating unit so that it will beheated to the desired degree to effect rapid drying when mixed with theother stream of air and discharged into the drying chamber.

When the second air-impelling means draws air from the drum, such air isthus recirculated. The drum is provided with an outlet remote from thepoint where air is discharged into the drum from the air chamber, andthe volume of air passing through the outlet is thus equal only to theair drawn into the air chamber from the exterior by the first-mentionedair-impelling means. The first-mentioned stream of air is preferablydrawn from the space between the drum and the outer cabinet so that itwill absorb any heat radiating from the drum. Such air is thus preheatedprior to passing over the heating element.

In the preferred embodiment shown in Figs. 1 to 3, inclusive, the outercabinet is indicated generally at H) and preferably is of generallyrectangular form comprising a base H, a front wall l2, side walls, and arear wall l3. The rear wall I 3 is preferably made removable so thatdriving and supporting mechanism within the cabinet can be accessiblefor servicing. The cabinet also includes a top wall [4. The base II ispreferably provided with a three point support comprising a rigid member15 adjacent the back wall (see Fig. 3) and a pair of adjustable membersIt at the front corners. The various walls of the cabinet are, ofcourse, preferably made of sheet metal.

Within the cabinet is a rotatably mounted drum, indicated generally at20, which is here shown as being cylindrical in shape and formed by apair of dished members 2| (see Fig. 3) flanged and secured together attheir open faces, as at 22. The drum 2!! at its front end is providedwith an opening 23 formed by an annular flange 24, there being acorresponding opening in the front wall l2 of the cabinet. The drum atits front end is supported by a pair of rollers 25 engaging the annularflange 24 and supported by an upright 26 mounted on the base ll of thecabinet.

At the rear side of the drum, air chamber means is provided, which inthe present instance comprises a cylindrical dished member 30 somewhatsmaller in diameter than the drum but rigidly secured to the rear wallof the drum. The rear wall of the drum is provided with a centralopening 3! communicating with the interior of the air chamber 38, and isalso provided with an annular series of perforations 32 opening from theair chamber adjacent the perimeter of the latter. The air chamber isalso provided with a central opening 33, preferably of substantially thesame size as the opening 3! and aligned therewith so that air may enterthe air chamber through the respective openings 31 and 33,

Within the air chamber is a rotary blower mounted coaxially with thecentral openings and adapted to positively draw air separately from boththe drum and from the exterior of the air chamber through the respectivecentral openings. To this end, the rotary blower comprises a rotatablydriven partition or disc member 34 extending radially beyond the marginsof the central openings and provided with dual air-impelling meanscomprising two sets of blades 35 and 36 on its respective faces. Theblades 35 and 36 are preferably made in the form of angle membersrigidly secured to the disc 34 and placed in a position so as to producean effective impelling action on the air. In the present instance, theblades 35 are shown as being larger than the blades 36, so that agreater quantity of air will be drawn from the drum than from theexterior of the drum. The size and number of blades on each side may bevaried, depending upon the mixture of air desired. Thus, a major portionof the air in the drum may be recirculated. The invention, however, isnot limited to this particular arrangement and the sizes of the two setsof blades may differ from that shown.

With the foregoing structure, it will be evident, that upon rotation ofthe blower, the blades 35 will positively draw air through the opening3! from the drum 20, while the blades 36 will positively draw airthrough the opening 33 from the exterior of the drum. Both streams ofair are forced outwardly to the outer portion of the air chamber 50 andare there mixed with each other and pass into the drum through theperforations 32. The outer portion of the air chamber thus constitutes aplenum chamber for supplying heated air to the drum. Of course, sinceair from the exterior of the drum is drawn in through the opening 33, acorresponding quantity of air must be discharged from the drum, and suchair passes outwardly through the central opening 23 at the front end ofthe drum.

The air drawn in through the opening 33 is preferably heated prior toentry into the air chamber. To this end, a heating means is provided',which in the present instance is shown as comprising a series ofconcentrically arranged electrical heating elements 48 supported byplates M mounted on a sheet metal disc or plate 42 fixedly supported atthe rear of the air chamber and spaced therefrom and extending radiallybeyond the opening 33. The air drawn into the air chamber through theopening 33 thus is forced to pass between the disc 42 and the rear wallof the air chamber 30 and consequently will be heated in passing throughthis space. The disc 42 is provided with a forwardly extending flange 43while the rear wall of the drum is provided with a rearwardly extendingflange M which together act as a shield to prevent radiation of heatfrom the heating element outwardly into space between the drum and theouter cabinet.

To supply air to such space, the top wall M, in the present instance,projects forwardly beyond the front wall l2 and thus provides a gap oropening 45 through which air may enter the interior of the cabinet. Suchair in passing to the rear of the cabinet flows around the drum 20 andthus absorbs heat radiating from the drum. Such flow of air is therebypreheated before entering the space between the disc 42 and the rearwall of the air chamber 30 for further heating by the heating elements40.

At the front of the dryer, the front wall I2 is preferably provided witha flange member projecting within the flange 24 on the drum andproviding an opening whereby laundry may be readily inserted into thedrum. To prevent the air discharged through the front of the drum fromentering the space between the drum and the cabinet, a flexible wiper5|, of annular form, is mounted on the flange 24 of the drum and bearsagainst the adjacent surface of the flange member 50 of the cabinet toprovide a seal therebetween.

A door, indicated generally at 52, is mounted Preferably the doorcarries a screen 54 adapted to extend into the flange member 50 on thefront wall so that lint will be removed from the air passing from thedrum, and to prevent small articles in the drum from being caught in theexhaust air stream.

The door 52 is constructed to provide an. air duct for the airdischarged from the drum.- To this end, the door comprises an outer wall55 and an inner wall 56. Adjacent the upper part of the door, the innerwall 56 is bulged outwardly as at 5'! to provide a transfer duct 60. Thebulged portion 51 overlaps the upper portion of the opening through theflange member 50 so as to communicate with the interior of the drum.

The duct 80 also extends upwardly above the flange member so as tocommunicate with a passage in the upper part of the cabinet formed by achannel member Bl. extends from the left edge of the duct 50. as

viewed in Fig, 1 when the door is closed, toward the right to a positionbeyond the periphery of the drum. Communicating with the channel member6! is a pipe or flue 52 extending rearwardly through the cabinet andopening at itsrear end through the rear wall 13 thereof or through oneof the other adjacent walls. Thus, air discharged through the centralopening at the front of the drum will pass through such opening into theduct 60 for transfer to the channel member 6! and thence rearwardlythrough the pipe $2 for discharge at the rear of the cabinet exteriorlythereof.

The screen 54 will remove much of the lint carried out by the air flowfrom the front of the drum. However, further filtering of the air may beobtained by providing additional filter screens 83 and G4 at the pointwhere the transfer duct 58 communicates with the channel 8|. Preferablythe screen 5c is coarser than the screen 63 and the latter is coarserthan the screen 64. The central opening 3i in the rear wall of the drummay also be provided with a screen 65 to prevent lint from entering theair chamher.

The drive for the drum and the drive for the rotary blower is combinedwith means for supporting the rear of the drum. For this purpose, i anupright 10" is mounted on the base if of j The channel member 66 i 5 thecabinet at the rear of the drum and at its upper end it is shown ascarrying a sleeve II which extends forwardly from the upright. The rearwall of the air chamber 30 is provided with a spider I2 extending acrossthe central opening 33 therein and at the center, the spider is providedwith a hub '73 rotatably mounted on the sleeve 'II. Rotatably mountedwithin the sleeve H is a shaft I4 extending forwardly beyond the hub I3of the spider and adapted to receive a hub member I5 to which the disc34 of the rotary blower is secured. Thus upon rotation of the shaft II,the blower will be rotated while the rear end of the drum is supportedon the sleeve II by the spider 12. The disc 42 which supports theheating element 40 is provided with a vertical slot fitting snugly overthe upright I and is secured thereto for supporting the heating element.The coils of the heating element 40 terminate at the slot and baffies I6are mounted on the upright I0 between the ends of the heating element toprevent air from passing upwardly along the upright where there is noheating element.

The drive for the rotary blower and for the drum is combined andcomprises a motor 80 mounted on the base II at one side of the casing.The motor carries a pulley 8| which is engaged by a belt I9 extendingupwardly over a pulley 82 mounted on the rear end of the shaft I4 andthen extending downwardly over an idler pulley 83 and then back to themotor pulley 8!. Thus, the motor drives the shaft I4 to drive the rotaryblower. For driving the drum, the idler pulley 35 is mounted on a shaft86 which also carries a pulley 8i. Entrained around the pulley B1 is abelt 00 which extends about the cylindrical air chamber 30 to drive thedrum.

To keep both the belt I9 and the belt 90 taut, the shaft 86 carrying theidler pulley 8E and the pulley 81 is journaled in a bearing member 0|mounted on a plate 02 extending through slots 93 in the upright 10. Tothe lower right hand corner of the plate 92, as viewed in Fig. 2, a

spring 04 is secured, the spring also being se-' cured to the base II ofthe cabinet. Thus, the spring 94 tends to pull the plate 92 downwardlyand to the right, as viewed in Fig. 2, to keep both belts taut.

The modified form of dryer shown in Figs. 4

and is generally similar to the dryer heretofore described but has adifferent mode of discharging the air into the drum. Thus, the dryershown in these two figures comprises a cabinet I0 of substantially thesame construction as the form of cabinet shown in the otherconstruction. Within the cabinet is mounted a drum, indicated generallyat I00. The drum comprises a cylindrical peripheral wall IIlI secured totwo annular end walls I02 and I03. The front wall I02 is provided with acentral opening IM through which air from the drum is discharged. Therear wall is also provided with a central opening I05.

Mounted within the drum I00 is a plurality of laundry-tumbling ribs,indicated generally at I05, three such ribs being provided in thepresent instance. Each rib constitutes a means fordischarging the airinto the drum. To this end, each rib comprises an angular member I I0which extends from one end wall to the other of the drum and is securedto both of these end walls and to the cylindrical wall I00. Both legs ofthe angular member are perforated, as indicated at III. The rear endwall I03 of the drum is provided-with a plurality of apertures II 2, one

and a rear wall H4. The dished member with the rear wall I03 forms anair chamber communicating at its periphery with the apertures IIZ.Mounted in the air chamber is a rotary blower, indicated generally atII5, which is of the same construction as in the form earlier described.The blower II5 is provided with two sets of air-impelling bladesrespectively mounted on its opposite faces and adapted to draw air bothfrom the drum through the central opening I05 and through a centralopening H6 in the rear wall II A of the air chamber. Outside of the airchamber, a heating means, indicated generally at III, is provided forheating the air drawn inwardly through the opening II6 by the rotaryblower. Such air is drawn from the space between the drum I00 and thecabinet I0 and is preheated by heat radiated from the drum.

Thus, the rotary blower I I5 will draw air both from the drum throughthe opening I05 and from the exterior of the drum through the opening H6and will force both such streams of air outwardly into the outer part ofthe air chamber where the two streams of air are mixed. The air thenflows through the apertures II2 into the interior of the ribs I06 forpassage through the perforations I l I in the ribs to the interior ofthe drum. In this type of dryer, the damp laundry is carried upwardly atone side of the drum by the ribs I00 and as the laundry approaches thetop of the drum the laundry slides off the ribs to being drawnin'through the central opening [I6 in the air chamber, a correspondingamount of air is discharged through the opening H3 in the front end ofthe drum, as in the case of the first-described form of dryer. The drivemeans for the.

drum and the rotary blower, as Well as the support for the drum, may besubstantially the same as in the other form of dryer.

It will be seen from the foregoing that both forms of dryers hereindescribed provide for recirculation of some of the air from the drumwith additional air taken in from the exterior of the drum. Suchadditional air is heated before entering the drum and thus maintains asufficient temperature within the drum to effect rapid drying. With arotary blower of the character herein disclosed, the proportion of airrecirculated from the drum and air from outside of the drum isdefinitely determined by the fact that the blower comprises a centraldisc or partition member having two sets of air-impelling means at itsopposite faces. A definite flow of air recirculated from the drum aswell as a definite flow of air from the exterior of the drum is therebyassured.

In the form of dryer shown in Figs. 1 to 3, the mixture of both streamsof air is discharged directly into the drum at the periphery thereof. Inthe form of dryer shown in Figs. 4 and 5, such Such heated air alsopasses into the drum fiii'xtui'e'of air is discharged from the airchain:- ber into the laundry tumbling ribs and thence through theperforations in the ribs against the laundry being carried thereby, aswell as from the ribs directly into the drum, for producing a highlyeffective drying action.

I claim:

1. A dryer comprising a rotatable drum having an and Wall provided witha central opening and apertures adjacent its periphery, a chamber strutt'ure mounted on said end wall and enclosing said apertures, saidchamber structure having an end wall spaced from the end wall of thedrum and provided with a central opening, rotary blower means mounted inchamber structure and com= prising a rotatably driven disc having twosets of air impeiling blades respectively mounted on opposite facesthereof for drawing air through the respective openings and dischargingit through said apertures into the drum, a plate mounted in spacedrelation to the end wall of the chamber structure and extending radiallybeyond the opening therein, and a heating element mounted in the spacebetween said plate and the end wall of the chamber structure to heat theair drawn inwardly through said space and through the adjacent opening,and a shield secured to the end wall of the chamber structure radiallyoutside the backing plate and extending axially over the space betweenthe end wall of the chamber structure and said plate to prevent outwardradiation from the heating element.

2, A dryer comprising a generally rectangular casing having a front wallprovided with a dis charge opening, a cylindrical drum rotatably mountedin said casing and having a discharge opening at its front endregistering the discharge opening of the casing, said drum at its rearend having a central opening and apertures adjacent its periphery, acylindrical air chamber structure mounted on the rear end of said drumand enclosing said apertures and having an inlet opening to the interiorof said casing aligned with said central opening, and rotary blowermeans mount ed in said chamber structure and comprising a disc locatedbetween said central opening and said inlet opening, and two sets of airimpelling blades on the respective faces of said disc for drawing airfrom the drum and from the interior of said casing and adapted todischarge the air through said apertures into the drum with a portion ofthe air passing through said discharge opening, said casing having a topwall extending forwardly beyond the front wall and providing a gaptherewith for admitting air to the interior of the casing.

3. A dryer comprising a rotatable drum having a plurality of hollowperforated ribs for tumbling laundry within the drum during drying, saiddrum having a central opening at one end, means mounted on said end ofthe drum providing an air chamber communicating at its periphery onlywith the interior of said ribs, said means having a central opening tothe exterior of the drum, and rotary blower means mounted in said airchamber and comprising a disc having air im-= pelling means mounted onthe opposite faces thereof for drawing air from the drum and from theexterior of the drum respectively and for discharging the air into saidribs for passage through the herifoiatiohs therein into the drum.

L. A dryer comprising a cylindrical drum hav ing end walls, a pluralityof laundry tumb'i'ng ribs within said drum, each comprising a perforatedangular member extending from one end wall to the other and secured tothe cylindrical wall of the drum, said drum having a central opening inone end wall with the latter provided with an aperture within the areaof each rib, said end wall being otherwise closed, a cylindfical membermounted on said one end wall and having an end Wall spaced from said oneend wall and providing an air chamber confinunlca'tin'g adjacent its eripiiery with the interior of said ribs through the apertures in saidone end wall of the drum, the end wall or the air chamber also having acentral opening, and rotary blower means comprising a disc mounted insaid air chamber and having air impeiling means mounted on itsrespective faces for drawing air through the respective central openingsand for discharging the air into said ribs through said apertures forpassage into the drum through the perforations in said ribs.

5; A dryer comprising a rotatable drum having a plurality of hollowperforated ribs for tumbling the laundry during drying, said drum havingan end wall provided with apertures opening into the interior of saidribs,- means mounted on said end wall of the drum providing an airchamber communicating with said apertures, and rotary blower meansmounted in said air chamber for discharg ing air from said air chamberonly through said aperti'lres to the interior of said ribs and from theribs through the perforations therein to the imterior of the drum.

6. A dryer comprising a rotatable drum having an end wall provided witha central opening and apertures adjacent its periphery; a chamberstructure mounted on said end Wall and enclosing said apertures, saidchamber structure having an end wall spaced from the end wall of thedrum and provided with a central opening, rotary blower means mounted inchamber structure and comprising a rotatably driven dischaving two setsof air impelling blades respectively mounted on opposite faces thereoffor drawing air through the respective openings and discharging itthrough said apertures into the drum, a circular platemounted in axiallyspaced relation to the end wall of the chamber structure and extendingradially beyond the central opening therein to provide an annularopening to the space between the end wall of the chamber structure andsaid.

plate at the periphery of the plate to permit air to be drawn radiallyinward through saidspac e, and an annular heating element mounted insaid space to heat the air passing through said space.

CHARLES S. ONEIL.

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